On Sat, 11 Aug
from 12pm - 4pm, the Bloodbank will be having a food "eatout" for
blood donors and they are inviting representatives from different food
cultures to bring food of their cultures that are high in iron to introduce
to blood donors. We’ve been invited. This is a good opportunity for VSS
to promote healthy and tasty vegetarian foods that are high in iron.

Representing vegetarians will be two
people who’ve been mentioned recently in this newsletter, Goh Joo Heng,
a champion blood donor, and Paul Yeoh, a teacher of raw food cuisine. Please
come down, tell people about vegetarianism, sample the food, and, most
importantly, donate blood.

This will be the 100 th anniversary of the
first World Veg Congress, held in the same city in 1908. The organisers of
the 2008 IVU World Vegetarian Congress have put together a varied 7-day
programme with something for almost everyone, and it will be held in the
centre of picturesque Dresden .

Germany is not cheap, but Congress organisers are offering
cheap accommodation for young people (or those who do not mind) in large
tents, 7 EUR per person, per night (shower coins cost an extra 2 EUR).

The first post congress tour (environmentally friendly) is available: 5 days,
Berlin (capital) -
Potsdam (Prussian residence, many
historical sites) - Spreewald (a picturesque area with rivers and forests, a
biosphere reservation with many interesting sites and people). 499 EUR pp
double occupancy, plus 140 EUR for
single occupancy. Check the next issue of IVU Online News for
information on other tours.

Lunch with Other
Pro-Earthling Organisations

On Sat, 25 Aug, representatives from VSS
will be having lunch with representatives from other local organisations that
look out for humans and other animals, such as Acres - http://acres.org.sg and Cat Welfare Society - http://www.catwelfare.org

The purpose of the get together is to
build bonds, exchange experience and explore collaboration. If you represent
another such organisation and would like to attend, please contact info@... and we’ll pass your info to the folks who are
organising the lunch.

National
Volunteerism & Philanthropy Conference

VSS has been invited to participate in the
National Volunteerism & Philanthropy Conference, 30-31 Oct. Right
now, VSS doesn’t have anyone to attend on our behalf. If you’d
like to represent VSS, at your own expense, please contact info@...

Teresa Hsu was born in
China 110 years ago. She has been
a vegetarian from birth, because she wasn’t able to digest meat. She
went on to become a nurse, working in the UK ,
Paraguay ,
Malaysia and elsewhere, before settling in
Singapore
in the 1960s. For many, many years, Sister Teresa, as she is affectionately
known, has directed a charity, Heart-to-Heart Service, which aids poor
people: http://www.hearttoheartservice.org She continues that work today, in addition to
teaching yoga. (IVU
Online News would like to thank Mr Sharana Rao for his
help in facilitating this interview.)

1. You have never eaten meat from
the day you were born due to the fact that your body rejects animal flesh. At
what age did not eating meat become a conscious choice, and why did you make
that choice?

I have been allergic to non-veg food since
birth. I became a conscious vegetarian one day during the 1950s, when I was
sitting by a river and saw the fish playing happily with each other. I
thought to myself that we humans have no right to end their fun, put a knife
in their throats, and cause them great pain for our pleasure.

2. You distribute food to poor
people. Do you distribute only vegetarian food?

Yes, I distribute only vegetarian food.
Some volunteers who help with the food distribution question me about why I
do not give the recipients what they enjoy eating. My answer is to ask them
the following: If your child was playing in the forest and wild animals who
lived in the forest wanted to eat your child, would you say that it was okay
because your child was born for these other animals to enjoy eating?

3. Is the world today a better
place that it was 100 years ago?

In some ways, today’s world is more
modern and offers certain facilities that didn’t exist 100 years ago,
but these facilities are available only to those who can afford them.
Basically, the world is still the same, with poor people everywhere, then and
now.

4. What are your three main sources
of joy?

Sun shining, birds singing, leaves
dancing, in other words, the beauty of nature.

5. Do you know any vegetarian
jokes?

Why did the tomato blush? Because it saw
the salad dressing.

Acres Advert Video

As you probably know, our friends at Acres
are building a sanctuary for animals who are rescued from the clutches of the
wild animal trade. They sent out the following is search of financial help.

Acres is badly in
need of funds to complete the Wildlife Rescue Centre. It's so close to
completion that we need this final push to see us through. It's an emergency
Saatchi & Saatchi along with Rushes Network, SongZu & BlackMagic
Design produced this video to raise awareness of this plight. Donations to
Acres are also now eligible for Double Tax exemption. Every $100 donated
gives you $200 off in taxes. The video is on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlskttwDoYA

Restaurant Reviews
Sought

VegDining.com invites you to submit
mini-reviews of your recent visits to veg and veg-friendly
restaurants. Until Sep 30, all submissions will be entered into a
drawing for some exciting vegetarian prizes. The drawing will be held on
World Vegetarian Day (Oct 1).

Also, VegDining is recruiting vegetarian
freelance travel writers to join its team, on a pay-per-article basis. If
you've recently visited or soon will be visiting destinations that might be
of interest to fellow vegetarians, send a note, with a brief sample of your
writing, to info@... (no attachments please).

World’s
First Healthcare Insurance for Vegetarians and ‘Meatleavers’

The Vega Insurance Policy in the
Netherlands
gives vegetarians, vegans and semi-vegetarians (meatleavers) the possibility
to take out a collective health care policy and to make use of a large number
of benefits tailored to vegetarian lifestyles. Research inthe Netherlands
suggests a large demand for this policy, and already 1000 people have signed
up. Many policyholders consider it an acknowledgement of their lifestyle.
Because of its unique character, there is interest in the Vega Insurance
Policy outside the Netherlands
as well.

In addition to protecting themselves, the
participants of the collective insurance policy can protect our fellow
animals by supporting the Stichting Wakker Dier (a Dutch animal welfare
organisation), the Dutch Union of Vegetarians or Adopt a Chicken (an
initiative to make consumers more aware of the poor living conditions on
poultry farms) up to 25 euros. As a gift of welcome, all participants receive
a Greencard VISA that offsets free of charge and for a lifetime the CO2 gas
omissions of all purchases made with this credit card.

The Vega Insurance Policy is the first
product developed by the Stichting PreventiePolis and is recommended by the
Dutch Union of Vegetarians, Adopt a Chicken and the Stichting Wakker Dier. To
date, there is no English language website about this insurance policy, but
more information is available at commpassion@...

Kiss Me:
I’m Vegetarian

According to http://www.stuff.co.nz/4146636a10.html, Dr Annie Potts, co-director of the New Zealand
Centre for Human and Animal Studies at Canterbury University (the opening of
which was mentioned in these pages earlier this year), has coined the term
‘vegansexual’. The term derives from data in Dr Potts’
recently published research on cruelty-free consumption in
New Zealand .

Vegansexual refers to vegans –
people who eat no animal products – who only have intimate relations
with other vegans.